Letter: Encourages interest in documentary coming to Springfield

Fans of thoughtful and visually arresting documentaries may be able to view a one-time screening of “The Gardener” in Springfield — but only if at least 90 people buy tickets by Feb. 20.

It is tentatively set for Feb. 27 at the AMC showplace on South Dirksen Parkway.

“The Gardener” follows an Iranian father and son, the Makhmalbafs, who travel to Israel and learn about the Baha’i Faith, a world religion whose followers — despite their gentle and peaceful ways — have long been violently persecuted in Iran. By traveling to Israel to make this film, the father and son face incarceration if they ever return to Iran, the land that gave birth to the Baha’i Faith in 1844.

Neither father nor son know much about the Baha’i religion, and what they think they know is far from accurate, due to its taboo status in Iran. Mohsen Makhmalbaf follows a young gardener who works at the beautiful Baha’i gardens/holy sites in Haifa, Israel, to understand who the gardener is and why he is there. Meanwhile, his son, Maysam, rejects the concept of religion altogether and travels to Jerusalem, where he comes across the sacred sites of Jews and Christians and finds many similarities with the Islamic society he grew up in.

The 90-minute movie is mostly in English and has received numerous accolades, including a 2012 Top 10 selection at the Mumbai International Film Festival. As a long-time Baha’i whose 18-year-old son is currently in Israel working at Baha’i sites featured in “The Gardener,” I can’t wait to see this movie.